


My Name is Tom

by chaoschameleon



Series: One-Shots [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Voldemort, Alternate Universe - Non-Magical, American Harry Potter, Barista Harry, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Good Tom Riddle, Happy Ending, Humor, M/M, One Shot, Romance, Sane Tom Riddle, Sassy Harry Potter, Tom Riddle is Not Voldemort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-16
Updated: 2020-11-16
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:27:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,225
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27594106
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chaoschameleon/pseuds/chaoschameleon
Summary: Tom goes to the Emerald Owl café because it has the best coffee on campus. Really. Not at all to see the irritating, yet adorable, green eyed barista who always fails to write the correct name for his order.
Relationships: Harry Potter/Tom Riddle, Harry Potter/Tom Riddle | Voldemort
Series: One-Shots [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2017243
Comments: 17
Kudos: 411
Collections: Top-tier HP/TMR Fics





	My Name is Tom

**Author's Note:**

> This work contains my poor attempts at humor. You have been warned 👀

Steam from the espresso machine fogged up Harry’s glasses and caused the tips of his hair to stick to his forehead as he worked. 

Although the Emerald Owl—Hogwarts University’s most popular coffee shop on campus— was generally quite busy in the morning hours, customers had frequented the shop much less today. This didn’t mean that Harry could slack off, though. He  _ needed _ this job.

Harry had been working at the Emerald Owl since his first year of college. He was continuing his education in the hopes of becoming a teacher, something he had been wanting to do since high school. However, since Harry had gotten into Hogwarts through a scholarship due to his above average grades, he had to work the morning shift at the shop five days a week. 

Despite his morning shifts at the coffee shop, classes in the mid-afternoon to early evening, and a hefty amount of coursework each day, Harry somehow managed to maintain a cheerful attitude, much to the amazement of his friends and coworkers.

Nevertheless, Harry always kept a smile on his face as he worked diligently to serve a variety of pastries and caffeinated beverages each day, and today was no different.

Harry had just finished handing a blueberry muffin and a cappuccino to a rather eccentric girl in his economics class, and was now in the process of cleaning up the counter. 

Upon hearing the little bell near the door ring to announce the arrival of a new customer, Harry looked up from where he was scrubbing at a coffee stain. He had to take the next order since his coworkers, Ginny Weasley and Cedric Diggory, were already busy with their own tasks.

In walked a tall man whose eyes were glued to his phone, fingers rapidly tapping on the keyboard without even paying attention to his surroundings. Since the man wasn’t looking straight ahead, Harry wasn’t able to discern many of his features just yet, other than his perfectly styled dark brunette hair and confident appearance. 

“Hello!” Harry greeted with a smile when the man walked up to the counter. “What can I get for you today?”

“A black coffee,” the man grunted out, his eyes still not leaving the apparently riveting conversation that was holding his attention. 

Harry simply smiled pleasantly despite the man’s lack of enthusiasm. He had dealt with a lot of customers over the years, so something as minor as a lack of manners didn’t really phase him. This kind of thing never stopped him from being kind. Harry always tried to live with the mentality that he should show everyone kindness because one could never know exactly what others were going through.

“Nothing to go with it? No cream or sugar?” Harry asked politely, trying to prompt more of a response from the man who still hadn’t bothered to look up at him.

A look of mild annoyance passed over the man’s face as he finally looked up to stare blankly at the employee who dared to take up his precious time. “A plain black coffee,” he repeated more slowly this time as he eyed Harry with contempt. 

Harry visibly paused as he got a full view of the man’s features. He looked to be around Harry’s age, so Harry guessed that he was also enrolled at Hogwarts. His eyes were a deep shade of blue, complemented by the subtle aegan turtleneck he was wearing. To top it all off, he had high cheekbones and a sharp jawline to go with them. The man was unbelievably  _ handsome _ , which could only mean trouble for Harry.

It was a moment before Harry realized he had been staring at him. He blinked as he saw the impatient expression on the taller boy’s face. Personally, Harry thought that the brunette could stand to loosen up a bit. It was a Saturday, so no one had classes. And besides, the man didn’t seem like he was actually in a rush. 

“Sure thing. That’ll be $2.10 please,” Harry said with a grin. “Can I get a name for the order?”

“Tom,” the brunette answered shortly, looking as if he was trying hard to resist rolling his eyes as he handed Harry the money.

Harry nodded at that and gave Tom one last smile as he set about getting his coffee made. Since it was such a plain order, it didn’t take long. Once it was done, Harry poured it in a disposable cup. 

Just as Harry was about to write Tom’s name down on the cup, he looked over at said man, who was once again engrossed in staring at his phone. 

Harry rolled his eyes playfully at this, getting an idea. Instead of simply writing “Tom” on the cup, he scribbled down “Tommy”. Smiling, he walked over to where Tom was waiting at the side and handed him his cup.

“Here’s your plain black coffee, Tom,” Harry said, mimicking the emotionless way in which Tom had said his order. 

Tom looked at the cup, inspecting the name written upon it before glaring at Harry. “My name,” he said in a low voice, “is Tom.” He continued to glower at Harry as the latter simply smiled back at him. “And your handwriting is horrid.” 

“I know it is,” Harry said cheerfully, answering both of Tom’s statements.

Tom huffed quietly at this and took a small sip of his coffee. Harry noticed with pleasure how a look of approval flitted across the brunette’s face for a moment before reverting back to that of indifference. 

Tom gave Harry one last glance before turning away and exiting the shop wordlessly. 

Harry chuckled to himself as he watched Tom leave. Despite the man’s cool disposition, he found he was beginning to like him. 

It was then that Ginny appeared at Harry’s side with a wide grin, drawing him back to reality. “Harry, that guy was  _ hot _ ,” she said in a poor imitation of a whisper. She nudged Harry knowingly, ”I hope he comes back.” 

“Yeah,” Harry replied, heat rushing to his cheeks, “I hope he does too.”

* * *

Harry’s wishes came true the next morning, as Tom came into the café at the same time as yesterday looking just as impeccable as before. 

Harry’s face brightened a bit as Tom got in line, while Ginny smirked at him from where she was preparing an order. Harry flushed slightly at this and quickly looked away to focus on serving the next customer. 

When Tom stepped up to the counter he was staring avidly at his phone screen, which didn’t surprise Harry at all. 

“Another black coffee I assume?” he asked in an amused tone. 

Tom turned his attention to him at this, his expression as indifferent as it was yesterday, although a bit less impatient. “Yes,” he answered and handed Harry the money. 

Harry flashed Tom a smile and went to make his order. When the drink was done, Harry tapped the pen on the counter as he thought about to write on it this time. When an idea popped into his head he smiled and wrote it down and then handed it to Tom.

As Tom took the cup he immediately looked to where Harry had written the name for his order, anticipating another ridiculous nickname. When he saw it, his eyes quickly shot over to look at Harry.

“I am  _ not  _ a ‘phone addict’,” he protested with a frown. This only served to make Harry smile wider. 

“Your actions say otherwise,” Harry teased, gesturing to the phone in his hand. 

“Have you always been this insufferable?” Tom countered with a slight scowl. 

Harry laughed at this, finding Tom’s reaction rather amusing. “Actually, I think the word you’re trying to say is  _ endearing _ .” 

“Whatever you say,” the brunette replied, eyes narrowing in on Harry’s name tag, “ _ Harry _ .” The way in which his name rolled so easily off of Tom’s tongue caused Harry to freeze minutely. 

Tom’s lips quirked upwards ever so slightly at Harry’s silence, but before Harry could think anything of it, he had started to walk away from the counter. 

Rather than leaving the shop like Harry had expected him to, the man headed towards the table in the far corner of the room, sitting down at it. Harry watched as he pulled out the laptop that had been tucked under his arm and began working on it. 

A pair of fingers snapping under his nose made Harry jump and scowl at the red haired girl who had appeared beside him. 

“Harry, I know you want to continue ogling Mr. Perfect over there, but I’d rather not get caught slacking off again,” Ginny said teasingly. 

“Oh, be quiet Gin,” Harry mumbled and tore his eyes away from Tom’s direction, earning a giggle from the girl.

Harry went through the rest of his shift with Tom on his mind. He periodically snuck glances at the brunette as he worked, glad that he was too distracted on his computer that he didn’t seem to notice them. What he didn’t realize was that Tom had been doing the same thing every time he turned his attention to something else. Ginny picked up on these exchanges, though, and rolled her eyes exasperatedly at the obliviousness of the two boys. 

When Harry’s shift was almost over, he walked over to where Tom was still seated under the pretense of cleaning up the tables.

“How was your coffee?” he asked casually, not looking at the other until he had completed wiping the table next to Tom’s down.

Tom looked back at him thoughtfully. “It was adequate,” he replied indifferently. 

Harry would be offended by this response, if not for the pleased look that spread over Tom’s face upon tasting the coffee yesterday.

“Well, I’m glad you have such faith in my coffee making skills,” he joked with a grin.

Tom actually allowed himself a smile at this. Well, it was more of a smirk, but for a man like him it was better than nothing. “Yes, well I really must get going,” he said, closing his laptop and standing up.

“Oh, right,” Harry nodded. “I’ll see you…” he trailed off, hoping that Tom would come back again.

“Tomorrow,” Tom confirmed with a curt nod before disposing of his empty cup and walking out of the store. 

Harry smiled to himself, shaking his head fondly at the thought of their little interaction. That man truly was a mystery to him. 

When he looked back at the spot Tom had just vacated, a small card caught his eye. It looked to be his student ID, reading:

_ Tom Marvolo Riddle _

_ Business Major _

And above it was a picture of Tom smiling smugly, each and every hair perfectly in place. 

_ He really is too attractive for his own good _ , Harry thought as he stared down at the picture. He snorted as he read the words beneath it.  _ Of course he’s a business major _ . He definitely seemed the type, not that there was anything wrong with that. 

Since Tom was probably long gone by now, Harry would have to return his ID the next day, which, as he continued to look at it, gave him an idea for what to do for Tom’s next order name. 

Teasing Tom really was too much fun. 

* * *

When Tom came into the Emerald Owl the next morning, Harry had already started making his coffee with the knowledge that the other boy would be coming in soon. 

Once it was finished, he turned around, knowing that Tom was standing there without even having to look. His eyes widened in surprise at the sight of the boy giving him his full attention, no phone in sight. 

“You finally stopped staring at that phone of yours,” he pointed out, smiling, “Color me surprised.”

“Well you did make fun of me for it,” Tom said with a smirk, amusement clear in his tone of voice. 

It seemed he was actually beginning to warm up to the raven haired barista. This made Harry feel warm for reasons he chose to ignore.

Harry simply laughed and handed Tom his coffee, upon which he had written his new name for him.

“Lord...Voldemort?” Tom read aloud, looking to Harry in confusion. 

“It’s an anagram,” Harry explained, pulling out Tom’s ID that he kept safe in his pocket and handing it to him, “that I got from this.” 

Comprehension dawned on Tom’s face as he looked at the card then back at Harry, who was looking quite proud of his work.

“Tom Marvolo Riddle,” he elaborated, “I am Lord Voldemort.” 

Tom’s lips quirked upwards in amusement at this proclamation. “You really made an anagram of my name?” 

“Yes, and I spent ages trying to figure it out, so you better appreciate it!” Harry exclaimed in a faux threatening tone. 

Raising an eyebrow at this, the taller man replied, “It sounds quite pretentious, though, doesn’t it?” He actually thought it seemed like an interesting title, but he wanted to tease the raven haired boy.

Harry scoffed. “Says  _ you _ . And besides,” he said, a smirk spreading across his face, “it was either that or ‘Mr. Tom, a dildo lover’.” 

Harry relished in the way Tom’s eyes widened and his lips twitched at that as he fought back a laugh. 

“You’re right,” he admitted with a grimace, “I prefer the former title.” Harry took note of how an embarrassed flush had crept up Tom’s neck and over his cheeks. It was cute. 

“It definitely fits you,” he agreed. “You’re probably planning to take over the world as we speak.”

Tom’s signature smirk fell into place. “A good dark lord never reveals his plans.” After saying this, he pulled out his phone, checking the time. “Ah, I’m afraid I must leave now,” he said. 

Harry frowned slightly, wanting Tom to stay. Upon closer examination, he saw that Tom's expression held a hint of disappointment at the prospect of leaving as well, which made Harry’s stomach flutter slightly. 

“That’s alright,” he said, “I’ll see you later,  _ my lord _ .”

He could have sworn he heard Tom laugh to himself as he left the shop. 

* * *

“He Who Must Not Be Named,” Tom said when he was handed his cup of coffee, eyes darting to Harry’s handwriting instinctively. 

“A dark lord such as yourself would inspire fear in those around him. People would quiver while simply trying to speak the name ‘Lord Voldemort’,” Harry said dramatically, striking the generic “damsel in distress” pose. 

“I see,” Tom said, smiling at Harry’s theatrics despite himself. “Since I’m a dark lord, does that mean you’ll bow down to me?”

Harry shook his head. “No, I would never. I think I would be the one destined to defeat you. A classic good versus evil story, if you will.” 

“Of course you would be the  _ chosen one _ ,” the proclaimed dark lord said with a soft snort followed by another smirk.

When Tom walked away after they stopped conversing, Harry was happy to see that he was able to stay this time, going back to the table in the corner. 

Harry went on with his job, unable to stop smiling. And Tom, on the other hand, couldn’t stop staring at Harry smiling. Ginny wanted to shove the two boys together and yell at them to just kiss already.

About halfway through his shift, there was a lull in the café’s activity in which Cedric interrupted Harry while he was cleaning the coffee dispenser and pulled him to the side to talk. 

“Harry,” Cedric said in a low voice, “If you’re not busy tonight, I was wondering if you might want to go to dinner with me?”

A blush quickly reached Harry’s cheeks as he stared at Cedric. “Oh… I-,” he started, but was quickly interrupted by the sound of a drink spilling and someone muttering an expletive under their breath. 

He and Cedric turned to see none other than Tom Riddle and his spilled coffee dripping over onto the table and his perfectly pressed shirt. He was staring back at the two and there was a dangerous glint in his eyes. For some reason, it didn’t seem like that look was directed towards the coffee seeping through his shirt. 

“Harry, if you could bring me some napkins that would be wonderful,” he said through gritted teeth. 

Harry continued to stare at Tom with a shocked expression before glancing at Cedric apologetically and grabbing a handful of napkins, quickly heading over towards Tom. 

“Are you okay Tom?” he asked as he watched Tom soak up some of the beverage with the napkins.

“Perfect,” Tom said dismissively, without looking at the other boy. 

“Um… okay?” Harry said, a little unsure about what was going on. He sighed while he walked away from the irate Tom, figuring he was just upset over the coffee incident. 

When he arrived back at Cedric’s side, the other boy looked at him hopefully, silently asking for a response to his question. 

“Cedric, I’m sorry but I can’t go out tonight,” he said, the blush returning to his cheeks. “I’m a bit busy with schoolwork.” This was true, but he also wasn’t sure if he really wanted to go out with Cedric, what with thoughts of Tom in the back of his mind. 

“Oh, that’s alright,” Cedric replied with a small smile. Harry was relieved that the boy didn’t seem too dejected at this.

It was then that Tom had stopped dabbing at his clothes and started to leave the shop. He didn’t look at Harry, but he seemed noticeably less irritable as he had a few minutes ago. In fact, there seemed to be a flicker of relief in his appearance.

Later when Harry and Ginny were leaving the café for the day, Harry brought up the accident from earlier. 

“You can’t seriously think he did that accidentally?” Ginny said incredulously.

Harry’s eyebrows furrowed together and his lips turned downwards in a frown. “Well, how could that be on purpose?”

Ginny sighed and rolled her eyes. “Nothing about him is imperfect. And that seemed like the perfect time to have an ‘accident’,” she said, looking to Harry and waiting for the understanding to adorn his features. 

“I think you’re just overthinking this Ginny,” Harry replied with a soft laugh.

“ _ Boys _ ,” Ginny muttered under her breath, wanting nothing more than to smack some sense into her friend. 

* * *

The next morning Harry had gotten ready and headed to the Emerald Owl to work as usual, but upon arriving his manager asked him to take the night shift that day because they were understaffed. 

Harry agreed, albeit reluctantly. He had been wanting to see Tom again, but he supposed he would just have to see him tomorrow. 

His replacement for the morning shift was a new hire named Colin Creevey. He was a rather excitable boy who could be quite overbearing at times. With this in mind, Harry grinned to himself as he thought about how Tom would react to Colin. Given their clashing personalities, Tom wouldn’t be having a fun morning.

Harry spent the morning and afternoon working on his studies as well as attending a couple classes. He didn’t have any evening classes that day, which was good because he didn’t want to be too tired for work afterwards.

When Harry arrived at the Emerald Owl hours later, he was greeted by Astoria Greengrass, the only other worker there that night. Astoria used to work the morning shift with Harry until her schedule changed. She was somewhat quiet, but nice enough to work with. 

The pair spent that night working as usual, but with a significantly less amount of customers than Harry was used to. He didn’t mind, though, as it was nice to be in a different environment. 

What Harry didn’t expect, though, was for none other than Tom Riddle to come striding into the café about half an hour before he got off work. 

“Where were you this morning?” Tom asked in a demanding tone. 

Once Harry got over the surprise of seeing him so late at night, he replied cheekily, “Why? Did you miss me Tom?”

Tom glared at him before rolling his eyes. “Instead of seeing you there today, I got that annoying boy with the mousy hair,” he complained with a scowl. 

“Ah, yes, that would be Colin,” Harry said while failing to hide his amusement. “I was asked to switch shifts today, but don’t worry, Voldemort, I’ll be back at the usual time tomorrow.”

Tom looked pleased at this, the scowl disappearing from his visage. “When do you get done with work tonight?” he asked.

“I get done at 10,” the raven haired answered and started to make Tom his usual black coffee before he was stopped by a hand on his wrist.

Harry froze as he looked down at Tom’s hand, feeling the heat radiating off of it. “No, I don’t need any coffee tonight,” Tom said with a shake of his head. “I came here to ask if you would accompany me on a walk tonight.” 

Harry gaped at Tom, not believing what he had just heard. 

“You’re staring, darling,” the brunette said with smug satisfaction at the effect he had on Harry.

“I-... Y-yeah, sure,” Harry managed to squeak out, internally cursing at himself for the way his voice raised in pitch ever so slightly.

“Very eloquent,” Tom remarked, clearly satisfied with Harry’s acceptance. He left it at that and sat down, pulling out his phone to occupy himself as he waited.

Harry’s cheeks remained tinted pink as turned back to what he was doing before Tom walked in, not believing that this was happening. 

“I could pinch you if you want?” Astoria piped up, seemingly reading his thoughts.

Harry merely shook his head with a blush and started the process of cleaning up, seeing as the only person who had come into the shop in a while was Tom. 

His thoughts were filled with wonder and nervousness, both glad that he had the opportunity to spend some time with Tom outside of work, and also scared that he was going to do or say something he would end up regretting. 

_ You’ve had plenty of conversations with him _ , Harry tried to reason with himself.  _ But never outside of the café _ , he countered. Harry wanted to smack his head against the wall. He should  _ not _ be getting so flustered over this man. 

Time passed by more quickly than Harry had anticipated, and before he knew it, it was 10 o’clock. 

In an attempt to buy some time to calm himself down before leaving with Tom, Harry tried to hang up his work apron as slowly as possible without making it seem weird. 

“Are you ready to leave Harry?” Tom spoke behind him, making him jump. 

“Don’t do that!” Harry cried out, turning around and slapping Tom lightly on the arm, which earned him a low chuckle. “But yeah, I am,” he added sheepishly.

“Excellent,” Tom said and walked out of the café with him.

The two walked in silence for a while, mutually deciding to go to the more scenic area of the campus across from the café with a walking path and large trees to the sides of it. A feeling of nervousness was hovering in the air between the pair, but Harry was too busy in his own mind to pick up on the tenseness coming from Tom’s side.

“So… You come to the Emerald Owl pretty often nowadays,” Harry spoke up, breaking the silence.

“Yes, it has a very… pleasant environment,” Tom answered, looking at Harry with an expression he couldn’t quite read. 

“I thought you came to the Emerald Owl for the exceptionally good coffee,” Harry quipped with a smile, glad that they weren’t going to just remain in awkward silence for the duration of their walk.

His face fell, however, when Tom fell silent once more. He was about to suggest that they both just head home, when the brunette spoke once more. He seemed hesitant, which was strange given his normal suaveness. “Well, yes, that and… to see you,” he said quietly, stopping in his tracks and causing Harry to stop as well. 

Harry’s stomach did a flip when upon hearing that. Tom came to see  _ him _ ? He paused to let this sink in for a moment before allowing himself to grin widely.

“So Lord Voldemort does have a heart after all!” he exclaimed, attempting to bite back the nervousness that was threatening to overtake him.

Tom narrowed his eyes but smiled indulgently at him. “Be quiet,” he mumbled and gently took hold of Harry’s hand, squeezing it gently.

By now, Harry’s heart was hammering rapidly in his chest. He almost couldn’t believe Tom wasn’t able to hear it. “Oh, sorry,  _ my lord _ ,” he said in a playful tone, his voice lowering as he looked at Tom’s intense gaze. 

Tom moved his hands so that they were cupping Harry’s face, making the boy’s cheeks heat up even more than they already were. Tom was slowly inching his way towards Harry’s face, still with that heated expression that sent shivers up his spine. 

Harry thought he was going to burst with anticipation if Tom didn’t  _ do something already _ , when —

“ _ My name is Tom _ ,” the man said before pulling him into a passionate kiss that sent tingles straight to Harry’s heart. 

**Author's Note:**

> You know it’s real when Tom purposefully spills coffee all over himself and ruins his perfect image just to get Harry's attention


End file.
